I WANT PAPER BALLOTS!!

[kster]

I want paper ballots.

SNIP...This is NOT an unreasonable request! And don't give me that bullshit about "we've already paid for them, we need to use them". You made a mistake, and people will understand that. People understand making mistakes, as long as you do the right thing afterwards. But I have some auditor friends from Author Andersen who can tell you what happens when you try to cover your mistakes up. I'm not asking for anything special- just do the right thing.

I want paper ballots!

If my shiny new car breaks down, I don't sit in it and wait for it to work just because I've paid for it. I call the manufacturer out and say "What the hell is wrong with this thing?", and then I use some other, proven method to get where I need to go. The engineering on these machines is horrible, they are not built to any industry standard, and they are not tamper-resistant, they are tamper friendly. It's not just Diebold - they all have problems, and NONE have been certified using industry standards.

And let's not just assume that computers even have to be used! When I took my exams for the two highest-ranking security certifications in the IT industry that I hold, the CISSP and the CISA, you know what we used? Paper and a number 2 pencil! Know why? Because that test is given by computer security experts! They know that they need to have trustworthy results, and paper is what they use.

The best thing we can do is sell those machines to another state and tell the NC voters that to protect vote integrity we will be using hand-counted paper ballots and there will be NO electronic voting until a manufacturer has met the minimum information security standards used by the rest of the IT industry. These machines aren't saving us time or money - it's a month later, and we're still having to revote! We - the voters - don't trust the results! Elections officials may protest going to paper and have to be dragged back to it kicking and screaming, but guess what? I'm fine with that. They work for US, and NOTHING is more important than vote integrity! Let's engineer a REAL solution for this! There have been numerous studies showing the superiority of paper ballots, and I want paper ballots, right now!

http://www.chuckherrin.com/paperballots.htm

[Selah]

1. OK

OK

[kster]

2. Welcome to the DU, Selah......nt

[BeFree]

3. It is inevitable

It just makes perfect sense to establish who governs our country through the use of paper ballots counted by humans.

The machines may have a niche in that operation but to rely chiefly upon what the machines spit out could lead to all kinds of unsolvable problems, ala Sarasota.

Until such time as a computer - which has the OK from computer experts - becomes available, the computers should be used only to sort ballots like the postal system does with our mail. Once sorted, the paper ballots may then be easily tallied by humans.

[hunter]

4. See my post in LBN...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2650220&mesg_id=2651089

[autorank]

5. Proud #5 !!! Hot damn-computer dude extraordinaire and conservative chuck herrin

Holy Cow as Bart says!!! We got Herrin. He's been on this issue for some time and is very
bright.

Great post. Thakns kster!

[bleever]

7. We were reading Herrin back in those first black weeks of Nov. 2004.

A conservative voting expert comes out for paper ballots!

:woohoo:

[autorank]

9. It's all a matter of cognitive efficiency...

...imho...that being the ability to think and chew gum at the same time.

Any one who can do that can figure this one out. Of course, I'm talking about
myself here so maybre I'll raise the bar a wee bit...think, chew gum, and post
on DU.


It seems like a long march, but I think it's just begun.

[In Truth We Trust]

6. Hand Counted Paper Ballots NOW! K&R Good post Kster

[Contrite]

8. Go, Chuck, go!!!

Glad to see Chuck back in action.

[emlev]

10. You're not alone! Check this out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x462494